2025-07-10 23:14:03"Ezra Bennett in critical condition!"
The headlines had barely hit the airwaves before they spread across New York like dry leaves catching fire. Every major news station, every gossip blog, even business analysts began whispering predictions.
Bennett Industries might never remain the same again.
Back at the mansion, the atmosphere was far from sorrowful. Esther Bennett sat on the arm of the grand leather chair in the sitting room, sipping freshly brewed tea. Her eyes didn’t show worry. In fact, they glistened with something clearly as an opportunity for her.
She tried to keep her expression flat for Zoe’s sake, but her mind was already travelling fast; bank accounts, properties, the shares in Ezra’s name. Her heartbeat quickened not from concern, but from excitement. With Ezra finally out of the way, she would step in fully as the matriarch. His absence meant space—space to seize control, space to get her hands on everything he’d once shielded from her.
She took another sip and allowed herself a small, tight smile.
Zoe, however, was not smiling. She paced the living room slowly, her shoes making soft sounds on the marble floor.
Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, but the confidence she usually wore like perfume had started to crack.
Her father was many things—a force, a protector, a shield against boardroom storms. But now, with him in a hospital bed, the reality was beginning to settle like cold water in her bones.
Without him, everything could fall apart.
She wasn’t worried about his health in the way most daughters would be. Her panic came from the looming fear that the company, Bennett Industries, might slip through her fingers. Investors would panic, business partners would question her capability, and the media? They would rip her apart.
For the first time in her life, Zoe felt powerless.
In all this chaos, Jordan said nothing.
He was outside, finishing the last of the cars he couldn’t wash the night before. The mop in his hand moved slowly over the roof of the black SUV, but his mind wasn’t really on the task. The news of Ezra’s collapse had hit him harder than anyone in that house could imagine.
To them, Ezra was a man to impress or exploit.
But to Jordan, Ezra was the only person who ever gave him something close to family.
He had saved him from nothingness. Given him a name, a life, a chance.
As Jordan wiped the last window, he heard the front door open.
“Jordan!” Esther’s voice rang out like a bell with no warmth.
He turned and stood still.
“We’re heading to the hospital,” she said, her voice sharp as always. “Before I return, make sure this entire house is clean. And go into my room, pick the clothes I dropped on the bed, and wash them. Not a single one should remain dirty by the time I come back.”
Jordan nodded once. He didn’t trust himself to speak.
************************
At the hospital, the air was heavy. Machines beeped softly around Ezra’s bed. His face was pale, his lips dry. Tubes ran across his arms and chest, and nurses moved quietly in and out of the room.
Zoe stood by the window with her arms folded. Esther sat stiffly at the edge of the chair beside the bed, her handbag clutched tightly.
Ezra’s eyes opened slowly. His gaze swept the room. When he didn’t see Jordan, his heart dropped.
In the past, no matter how tired or unnoticed, it was Jordan who came to sit with him. Jordan who brought soup in a flask. Jordan who asked if he needed an extra pillow. Jordan who stayed even when he wasn’t asked.
Now, Ezra’s lips moved.
“Where… is Jordan?” he whispered.
Zoe froze. Her back straightened.
“He’s… he’s occupied at home,” she replied, quickly forcing a smile. “We didn’t want to stress him.”
Ezra turned his eyes to her. The sharpness in his gaze returned, even if just for a second. He knew she was lying.
“Call him,” he said, firmer this time. “Now. Both of you… treat him like the human being that he is. That boy means more to this family than either of you have ever tried to understand.”
Esther was just about to grumble something under her breath when the door creaked open.
Jordan stepped in quietly.
His eyes scanned the room, then landed on the hospital bed.
He had never seen Ezra like this. Not weak. Not surrounded by tubes. Not fighting for breath. His throat tightened as he approached, slowly, uncertain.
Esther opened her mouth, clearly about to scold him for leaving the chores unfinished, but she held back. Something in Jordan’s face warned her this wasn’t the time.
Ezra’s eyes lit up the moment he saw him.
He shifted. His arms moved. In a strength that shocked everyone, he pushed himself upright, the machines beeping in protest.
“Sir, wait!” the nurse cried, rushing forward.
But Ezra was already sitting up, staring directly at Jordan with a kind of fire no one expected from a man who was half-dead just moments ago.
“Please…” Ezra said, waving Esther and Zoe off with a tired hand. “Give us a moment.”
Zoe hesitated. Esther opened her mouth to argue, but one stern look from Ezra silenced them both. They stepped out quietly.
Jordan walked closer. His heart beating faster than normal.
The man lying before him had given him everything. And now he looked so… close to the end.
Ezra reached for his hand.
“Jordan,” he whispered, his voice soft but sure. “I don’t know how long I have. But there’s something I need to say before it’s too late.”
Jordan’s eyes stung.
“Don’t say that, sir—”
“No, let me finish,” Ezra said gently. “All my life, I’ve built this company, this legacy. I’ve poured everything into it. But the only person who has ever been loyal to me, without asking for anything… is you.”
Jordan stood still, trembling.
“I want you to take over my company, Jordan. Every single asset I have. When I’m gone… I want it all to be yours. Would you do me the favour to accept this offer?”
The room went silent, except for the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.
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Chapter 62: Between Love and War
The office felt colder that morning. The moment Jordan walked in, every staff member knew something was off.His expression was calm, but his eyes carried that quiet storm, the kind that warned of an incoming reckoning. Jenna saw it too.She had seen it before, years ago, during the worst of the Bennett trial.He called for an emergency meeting with the executive team. The room filled quickly — department heads whispering nervously, laptops open, files spread across the long table.Jordan stood at the head, hands clasped behind his back. “The breach we faced last night was not random,” he began. “It was deliberate. Coordinated. And personal.”Silence gripped the room.“Evidence points directly to ZB Consulting,” he continued. “Which means Zoe Bennett has declared war again.”Murmurs erupted. Jenna’s sharp voice cut through them. “The security division is doubling our firewall defenses. Every internal device will be audited. Anyone found in contact with that firm, even casually will be
Chapter 61: The Games People Play
The first email came on a quiet Monday morning. Jordan was reviewing financial reports when Jenna walked in with her tablet. “You should see this,” she said.It was from Zoe. The subject line read: “A Proposal for Healing and Collaboration.” The message was polished, diplomatic, almost tender. “A chance to show the world that we’ve both moved past old wounds,” she wrote. “Let’s rebuild something positive from the ashes.”Jordan stared at the screen for a while, expression unreadable. “She wants to collaborate?” he said finally.Jenna folded her arms. “It’s a trap. She’s testing the waters, trying to see if you’ll still open the door.”He nodded slowly, but said nothing.For two days, the email sat unanswered. Yet, somehow, it lingered in his thoughts. He didn’t know why; maybe curiosity, maybe unfinished business, maybe the stubborn part of him that always sought closure.On the third day, Zoe sent another message. “I understand your silence, but I’d still like a chance to speak in pe
Chapter 60: The Return of Shadows
Zoe’s reappearance began like a whisper, not a storm.It started with small headlines — “Zoe Bennett: The Woman Who Lost Everything but Found Herself.”Another read, “From Scandal to Second Chances: Bennett’s Path to Redemption.”Each piece painted her as a misunderstood woman rising from ruin, not the cold manipulator the world had condemned.Behind it all was a new publicist she hired — one of the best in the industry. He had a simple instruction from Zoe: rebuild my image and make people remember my name without fear or hate.Soon, she was appearing in quiet interviews, charity events, and podcasts about rebuilding after loss.Her voice trembled when she spoke about her “mistakes” and her “journey toward self-forgiveness.” It was rehearsed, calculated, but effective.People began to soften. The same audience that once cursed her name started saying maybe she had suffered enough. That maybe prison wasn’t the only punishment a soul could endure.Zoe played the part well — gracious, h
Chapter 59: Old Wounds, New Fires
Jordan’s days became a blur of meetings, calls, and new beginnings. The storm that once clouded his life had cleared, leaving room for purpose.Jefferson Group was thriving again. Investors who once doubted him now fought to be part of his projects. His name carried weight — not from pity, but from respect earned through scars.Bennett Industries, the empire that once tried to bury him, now stood reborn as Bennett–Jefferson Holdings. The name was intentional. A message that the past had been redeemed, not erased.The offices buzzed with energy; the employees worked with new hope, knowing leadership had changed hands for the better.Through it all, Jenna was beside him. She had become his steady rhythm — the voice that calmed him when pressure grew, the face that reminded him that peace was possible after pain.She knew how to balance him — when to challenge him, when to stand silent, and when to push him to live outside the walls of his office.They spent long hours side by side, revi
Chapter 58: Sparks of Healing
The weeks after the judgment passed quietly, though the city still whispered Jordan’s name. The media had moved on to newer scandals, but remnants of the Bennett story still lingered in business columns and social chatter.Everywhere he went, people looked at him differently, with respect, some with awe, and others with silent envy.He had become a symbol of survival, of justice, of power reclaimed. But when the cameras turned off and the applause faded, he found little peace in it.Most nights, he sat in the dim light of his penthouse, unable to sleep. Victory had its noise, but silence after it was deafening. He often stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting back to Ezra — the man who had believed in him when no one else did.The man whose trust had cost him his life. “You’d have wanted better for all of us,” Jordan muttered one night, his voice barely a whisper.The city lights blinked below him like scattered stars. He reached for a glass of water but paused midway, realising
Chapter 57: Lines of Control
By sunrise, the Bennett building was no longer theirs. Court-appointed auditors arrived early, a convoy of cars pulling up in front of the glass tower that once symbolised arrogance and wealth.They came with sealed orders, escorted by court officers and a handful of Jefferson Group security men.Inside the building, staff whispered nervously as the lead auditor, a tall woman named Mrs. Adisa, addressed them. “We are acting under the authority of the court,” she said firmly. “All departments will cooperate fully. Every document, every transaction record, every contract — we go through everything.”Jordan and Jenna stood in the lobby as the process began. The auditors moved from one office to another, tagging assets, securing files, and collecting devices.Some staff members looked relieved, others defiant.Hensley briefed Jordan quietly. “This is the full charge order. The judge gave them unlimited access to the company’s records. For the next thirty days, Bennett Industries reports d
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